Where is the phrase "the least, the last and the lost" from? NT

[Eric J in MN]

NT

[McKenzie]

1. The Book of Matthew? n/t

[jefferson_dem]

2. For What It's Worth -- -

http://www.bobssermons.com/sermons/archive/020630.html

Or...just another shining example of how those who are most vocal about doing the talking are often most lame in doing the walking...

[Eric J in MN]

4. Matthew 10: 40-42 doesn't contain that phrase

40“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. I'd never heard it, so I googled it

It may ultimately stem from the Bible verse, "For whatsoever you do unto the least of these you do also unto me," but all the citations on Google seem to come from religious writings or magazines.

I suspect it may be a current Christian cliche, much as "Jesus accepts us in our brokenness" was about 20 years ago.

[Igel]

5. It's not, at least not any translation I've read.

But there's a source for "the least", there's the "first shall be last and the last shall be first", and "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel." (It's been years, but I still quote--to the extent I ever could--KJV.)

So maybe it's an amalgam of three different verses.